Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Koh Tao

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,038 in Koh Tao, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Koh Tao despite lower rent and utilities.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Koh Tao
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Koh Tao Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Koh Tao

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Koh Tao

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cebu and in Koh Tao actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,038 in Koh Tao.

Cebu $934
Koh Tao $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,702 in Koh Tao.

Cebu $1,415
Koh Tao $1,702

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $2,367 in Koh Tao.

Cebu $1,896
Koh Tao $2,367

Living in Cebu costs roughly 10% less than in Koh Tao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Koh Tao 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$3.75 ฿126

-19.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$27.47 ฿920

-14.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$7.44 ฿249

-45.03%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.29 ฿76.7

10.04%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.74 ฿24.85

108.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.42 ฿14.14

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$2.11 ฿70.5

-15.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$3.16 ฿106

-28.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.56 ฿52.3

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.31 ฿43.93

9.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.43 ฿47.89

-28.67%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.08 ฿69.6

-0.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$18.59 ฿623

-47.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$3.11 ฿104

48.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$10.34 ฿346

-25.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$2.70 ฿90.5

22.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.54 ฿51.7

-5.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.16 ฿72.5

9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.95 ฿65.2

-21.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.43 ฿48.03

65.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.26 ฿42.12

57.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$1.06 ฿35.35

8.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.51 ฿17.19

31.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$4.06 ฿136

-26.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$17.40 ฿583

-63.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.67 ฿56.0

-21.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$2.63 ฿88.0

-34.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$1.97 ฿65.9

-87.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$2.62 ฿87.6

-71.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.91 ฿30.50

-76.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$3.48 ฿117

24.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.29 ฿43.27

3.10%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$23.8K ฿796.9K

-8.56%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$24.3K ฿813.9K

-20.20%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$121 ₱7,563

$96.6 ฿3,235

24.79%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.45 ₱907

$11.14 ฿373

29.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$16.85 ฿564

67.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$54.6 ฿1,827

-40.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$11.61 ฿389

-44.96%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$7.88 ฿264

-30.71%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$273 ₱17.1K

$547 ฿18.3K

-50.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$11.4K ฿383.3K

-28.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$62.7 ฿2,100

-20.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$28.43 ฿952

-12.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$96.2 ฿3,220

-20.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$88.2 ฿2,952

-32.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$535 ฿17.9K

-5.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$354 ฿11.9K

-12.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$1,533 ฿51.3K

-31.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$897 ฿30.0K

-30.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$2,660 ฿89.0K

9.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$1,917 ฿64.2K

-2.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.57

29.26%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Koh Tao: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Koh Tao

$354 34% 14.4% $45

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Koh Tao

$252 24.2% 19.7% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Koh Tao

$125 12% 23.7% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Koh Tao

$124 11.9% 31% $29

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Koh Tao

$101 9.7% 14.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Koh Tao

$70 6.8% 61.3% $27

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Koh Tao

$15 * 1.5% 2.5% $0.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $535 in Koh Tao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $27.00 in Koh Tao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $252 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇭 Koh Tao

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

13:31 1:31 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

1,382

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Koh Tao 2,630 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Koh Tao

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cebu vs Koh Tao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,401 in Cebu and $1,557 in Koh Tao to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $506 in Cebu versus $535 in Koh Tao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Koh Tao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $1,038 in Koh Tao – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,038 in Koh Tao, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Koh Tao. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Koh Tao, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Koh Tao are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Koh Tao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.